I remember after a dance class my teacher called me to talk to me privately and tell me that I needed to lose weight if I ever wanted to become a professional ballerina. I was 7 years old at the time, and yet I have carried these words close to me for 12 years now. This time last year I had lost 20% of my weight and hadn't had a period in over a year, but it wasn't enough. I would set deadlines for myself, like "I just need to be slim until prom or senior week, and then I'll let myself eat normally again." But each time, I kept going, narrowing my food options so that certain foods were actually bad for me. Eating candy and fat wasn't even an option for me, but I remember people constantly asking me, "Why can't you just eat it?" One evening in particular, my parents gave me a dreaded Ensure drink because I hadn't eaten all day. I sat across from them at the table, holding the glass, sobbing because I couldn't physically bring myself to drink it. The more they encouraged me to eat, the more I refused. I'm now recovering from hospitalization, but it's still a daily struggle (Katie1's story). Society promotes a distorted body image that makes men and women anorexic. In order to better understand anorexia, we need to learn what anorexia is, what the main causes are, and the long-term effects. We also need to know why people are anorexic, why society should not use distorted body images, and the benefits of stopping anorexia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that can have life-threatening consequences. Anorexics consume very limited amounts of food and begin to starve. Eventually, these people will become dangerously thin and malnourished, but will still consider themselves overweight and continue not to eat....... middle of paper ......f to eat certain foods because 'they are "bad" or "will hurt your 'perfect' figure". Men or women should never be told that to play a certain sport you have to be so skinny that it causes critical and long-term effects on your heart and bones. Personally, I've always been a little girl, but this is for exercise! Do not starve or vomit after meals. I work on my figure, but in a healthy way. If you want to change your appearance; make sure it's something you want to do, not something you do because of peer pressure or someone else's opinion of your appearance. You can weigh 100 pounds or 300 pounds, you will be judged either way. But you need to put that aside and make sure you're healthy before trying to please someone. Live up to your natural beauty! embrace the way you were created! Don't let anyone push you around because of your appearance!